… à Portuguesa
Last night, before we had dinner, I made a marinade for pieces of pork with white wine, bay leaf, salt, pepper, garlic, red chili paste, and a little bit of olive oil. That was in preparation for today’s dinner with Toby: we decided to make some Portuguese food, and Querido thought that carne de porco à Portuguesa or à Alentejana looked really good, so we decided to make that. Funnily enough, he also thought that dobrada looked tasty until I told him that it’s tripe. The way we cook it makes it very tasty, though!
The morning was pretty slow, we had lunch and were lazy and cuddled. Having slow days is good, as the last few days were pretty fast-paced socially. Before dinner, we realized that we probably didn’t have enough olive oil, so we went to ICA and got that and some dates and bacon to make as a starter since it’s one of Toby’s favorites. As soon as we got home, I took care of the dates. Meanwhile, Toby arrived.
The dates were really tasty and the boys loved them! While they were eating and catching up, I de-shelled the shrimp and started making dinner. Querido cut the potatoes into triangles - just as tradition demands - and made “portatoes” (as my husband calls them) in the oven. The food went pretty quickly and it smelled great, but I must confess that I was worried about it not being good enough. I was wrong! It tasted just like my mother’s - which is my standard for great Portuguese food. After it was done, I added some coriander on top.
Toby brought a really good wine from Alentejo called P. Lex. It was a Reserva. I really liked it, it was full and just fruity enough. It was well-balanced and it enhanced the dish. Tack, Toby!
All of us enjoyed the food and I have a hard time expressing how happy that made me. Not only because I like to entertain well when we have people over, but also because that’s a piece of my heritage and a dish that we have very often at my parent’s place: it has been the star of many family parties! The original recipe has clams instead of shrimp, but I actually prefer the contrast with shrimp, and it’s a very common alternative in Portugal as well. We added a different twist with some Swedish pickled cucumber, which tastes different from the pickles we have in Portugal, but I liked the way it complemented the dish.
After dinner, we had a good talk, some good coffee, and listened and watched some Swedish classics. Then - still keeping it Swedish - we listened to M:40 and Grace.Will.Fall. Toby and I have similar preferences when it comes to Stoner and Sludge, so it’s easy to DJ for him and vice-versa. He’s a really kind-hearted person and I’m glad I got to cook Portuguese food for him.
After Toby left, Querido and I just kept the good conversation and cuddled. That’s my favorite way to end any night.
Here’s to friends! Saúde!